Without limiting the scope of the invention, the background is described in conjunction with bipolar transistors as they are formed into integrated circuits having other kinds of devices, for example. Heretofore, in this field, high-power bipolar transistors were typically fabricated on separate integrated circuit chips from those containing low-power CMOS logic transistors and the like, for example. Because of the considerably different semiconductor process requirements, it has not heretofore been feasible to fabricate these transistors in a single semiconductor substrate or epitaxial layer with any degree of reliability. When these devices have been attempted to be fabricated within the same integrated circuit chip, often the semiconductor process steps for each were simply patched onto each other with an insufficient attempt at unification of the process steps. Accordingly, improvements which overcome any or all of the problems due to a multiplicity of semiconductor process steps and masks in the fabrication of both bipolar and other, lower-power devices in the same integrated circuit chip are desirable.